People use weigh scales to measure how much they weigh. This is particularly true of people who are on diets. However, stepping on a scale and viewing how heavy you truly are can be a daunting experience. Weighing oneself can lead to adverse psychological effects. For some people, a weigh scale generates fears of embarrassment, humiliation, discouragement and the general feeling of being overwhelmed.
The stigma attached to a person's weight can be burdensome. Knowing exactly how heavy you are can have dwindling effects on your self-confidence, especially after looking down at the scale time and time again. Some people avoid stepping on a scale altogether in fear of finding out exactly how much they weigh. In fact, celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Phillip McGraw's wife openly admit to the fear of stepping on the scale. Some people on diets might not want to monitor their progress for fear that their total weight is still quite large in some cases, when a person finally steps on a scale they may be so discouraged by their previous dieting efforts that they may altogether stop watching their weight This may lead to a rebound period where a person gorges oneself on food, which ultimately exacerbates the weight problem they intended to confront.
These emotional issues can be hard for everyone, especially children. For example, a child may have a more acute sense of fear as compared to an adult and the child may have an exaggerated sense of shame, failure, or trauma. While weigh scales are generally supposed to be a helpful tool in gaining or losing weight, their very nature tends to create fear, doubt, and uneasiness in a person's mind.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved apparatuses, systems and methods for weighing subjects and for monitoring the weight of subjects.